The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for the Asokwa Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Hon Patricia Apiagyei has called for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to integrate and empower people living with disabilities into society to have decent standards of living because everybody is a potential disabled person.
She made the call on the floor of Parliament when she presented a statement to mark the 2014 UN International Day of Persons With Disability on the international theme: ?Sustainable Development: The Promise of Technology? and the National theme as ?Making Ghana Accessible to Persons with Disability; A Concern to All?.
Hon Apiagyei emphasized that the choice of the theme should inspire focus on the use of technology to harness the strengths of all citizens including persons with disability to advance national development.
She challenged the entire citizenry to take issues of disability seriously to ensure that the entire country become disability friendly.
The Asokwa MP also challenged all to work together to break the economic, socio-cultural, attitudinal and physical barriers that inhibit efforts to mainstream disability issues into national development processes.
Hon Patricia Apiagyei urged for the need for Ghana to move ?with great dispatch to formulate an all-embracing policy framework that would support the inclusion of disabled persons in every aspect of the nation`s developmental process??.
The MP also called for compliance with the Disability Act, Act 715 and respect for the rights of persons living with disability with respect to life, property, accommodation, education, employment and healthcare.
She advocated for an extensive and sustained education and awareness creation campaign to make the entire populace disability conscious.
?In fact, every one of us is a potential disabled person. This may occur either through old age or injury from accidents and other causes which may either be natural or unnatural? she stated.
She commended the chiefs and people of Domenase Komenda in the Central Region for donation land for an educational complex for persons living with disability.
The UN in 1992 set aside 3rd December annually to commemorate the International Day for Persons With Disability. The day is used to create international awareness and promote better understanding of disability issues.
Source: Christian Kpesese
